whitecadillac

i'm trying to narrow down my list of what colleges to apply to.

so can you tell me 5 things i need to know before deciding whether or not to apply to duke? like the most important 5 things i'd need to "be" or "like" to be happy there? (i.e. big sports culture or liberal or outgoing or greek life, etc)

laxtaxi

It is important to note that Duke only has 4 letters, making it both rare among universities and easy to spell.

eatsalot

There is no typical Duke student - to be happy here, you just need to be able to balance fun and academics. And be an excellent student.

missyujin

You don't have to like anything in particular, really. Well...I hope you like having fun!

KPT

Don't try to fit it into a formula. Its cliche, but there really is no typical Duke student. Just visit and if you like it, apply. If you are accepted, eventually decide to go, and have the right mindset, you'll find that you can be extremely happy here.

knat

Really? I've personally found, in my short time here so far, that Duke's student body is relatively homogeneous. It's definitely still widely eclectic, and you still can find people with any time of personality or background, but everyone here could still describe the "typical Duke student." That's not to say that many of the attributes that characterize this typical Dukie are negative...at least from our perspective.

knat

Anyways, it seems as though the OP is trying to determine whether or not Duke is right for him/her, so a bit of generalization might be necessary. Keep in mind that, as in any college, all descriptions only characterize the majority of the campus/college/student body; there are always exceptions.

Sports culture (especially basketball) is really big here, but that doesn't mean that only people big on sports come here. In fact, most people here (and almost all the girls) didn't follow any type of sports team prior to arriving here. When you follow Duke sports as a Duke student, it's much different from following, say, the New England Patriots or the Miami Heat. The association between you and the teams become inherent rather than attained, so that even the most sports-illiterate student enjoys wins. In that sense, everyone here becomes a fan, but in the same way as you become a fan of your brother's soccer team. You could care less about soccer itself, but you still go to watch him play.

Duke in general isn't that big on politics. That's not to say that most students are politically apathetic; most are still aware of current events. However, it doesn't often become the topic of conversation, and political groups don't have the in-your-face presence as they do in, say, Columbia or Berkeley. If you are interested in politics, though, there definitely are outlets for you. Duke (and Duke Democrats/Duke Republics) regularly invite moderately-well known political figures to come and give speeches and seminars.

Most Duke students are very outgoing, usually in a typical let's-go-party way. That said, most students, including the party-goers, actually didn't party that much (or at all) in high school, so if you're not a partier now, then you're not alone. If you don't picture yourself ever drinking or partying, then you won't feel left out here, but you won't be the majority. Many people still go to parties with their friends and don't drink, though. On the other end of the spectrum, if you're disgusted by party cultures, then there are the substance-free dorms. My friend from high school lives in Brown (the freshman substance-free dorm) and he loves it. There's not really any social divide between substance-free students and everyone else until weekend nights.

Whatever your case, you'll definitely find a group of friends here that are like you. Plenty of people go to the library every day (including weekends) and study all day long. Plenty of people go out and party every night, including weeknights. 97% of students here fall somewhere in-between those two extremes. Regardless of your study habits, anyone could feel accepted here. In my opinion, a much more divisive factor here is socioeconomic status, simply because there's much less diversity in that here. You'll find people on full need-based aid and people whose parents are billionaires, but about 90% come from upper middle class. That's not any different from any prestige private school, but I feel as though the greek scene here elevates the degree of superficiality.

That leads to the next and final point. The greek scene is huge here. It drives the party scene. 90% of parties are hosted by frats. 70% of weekend-night events are parties (with most of the remaining 30% being the slim selection of Durham clubs). There are still plenty of alternative options, but you'll find that most of your friends (at least the ones you make initially) go mainstream. It's not that bad; most frats (except for some) are pretty inviting, especially to freshman. However, I've heard that in the spring, after rush, they get much more exclusive and stingy about their alcohol money.

Come visit. And by visit, I don't mean stop by here for a day and take a campus tour. I mean spend a night here; talk to the admissions office to arrange a host. People here have plenty of school pride, so they'll be really hospitable, especially if they volunteered to host you for the night. After admissions decisions are made, Duke hosts Blue Devil Days for accepted students to stay overnight; definitely check that out.

Good luck!